Step 5: Load in Ants, Start Dual-Life

Step 6: Future Designs

Some problems are that the device gets pretty sweaty, it is hard to load and unload because you need to open the entire thing, and the end pointing to...

Intro and Theory
In my research and design, I need to study the behaviors of insects, particularly bees and ants. There are many methods for learning about the actions and procedures of these other forms of life. You can read books and journals, analyze video footage, and even perform experiments. These are all terrific methods, and have their own particular strengths and weaknesses, but one factor that I felt was missing, was the ability to understand the creatures within their own timescale.

Often we build mental models of the interactions whose descriptions elide certain aspects of the total process. For instance, we could say that, given a certain pheromone, a colony of ants will do X, but often these descriptions skim over the tiny interactions which add up to the gestalt behavior, and which may take really long periods of time.

Additionally, an important part of deeply understanding these actions comes from being immersed in their behaviors. More immersive methods of biological study could help humans analyze the subjects' activities consciously and subconsciously. If one could actually live directly with the ants for an extended period of time, I believe that new understandings would arrive that would not normally be accessible through even very intense short term analysis.

For this reason I have designed the very first stage of what I am dubbing the "Arm-y" Ant farm**. Basically it is an Ant-farm that you can wear DIRECTLY on your arm. The hairs on your arm give you constant feedback as to the minute actions of your colony and provide a good anti-gravity substrate for your friends to climb around in.

Also it's fun! and weird!

(NOTE** I would not recommend actually putting army ants into the device (or any other painful ant). It's just a corny pun people!)

This was one of those tubes that you get from a drive up bank and accidentally forget to give it back. But you don't need to steal one, even on accident! Here is a place you can buy your own http://www.banktubesdirect.com/ (yeah that's seriously the URL!)

I agree with PaulMakesThings, some kind of foam would be great for comfort, yet still keep an ant proof seal. I was thinking just some of that weather proofing foam tape used for doors and windows would work pretty well too.

In regards to what the ant-activists are saying, I don't think it's a big deal. It's still a fun, offbeat idea. You seem like someone that knows enough about ants to keep them safe. Plus, it's not like it's a permanent home for them. Worst case scenario, about ten ants get lost on your arm for a day, then are returned home. Well, on second thought, worst case scenario would actually be you encounter some sort of sci-fi radiation and you become an ant-human hybrid mutant. Then the government hunts you down and turns you into a super weapon of some sort and you are forced to use your superhuman ant powers (tough exoskeleton; ability to lift 50 times your own weight, etc.) to destroy entire armies against your will. But whatever, you get the idea.

Inspiriatiinal! This project is exactly why I love instructables - without it I wouldn't right now be considering the pros and cons of a beehive hair do that really is a beehive, or pondering the relative merits of wearing a work-in-progress neck tie, i.e. with a silkworm in situ at its bottom, spinning away like crazy... And it's all in the quest for knowledge of course, light years away from that 70's dude who had a goldfish swimming around inside his glass platform shoes.... Seriously, I LOVE this

It puts me in mind of Hex - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hex_%28Discworld%29 (basically a sort of computer made by wizards that's powered by ants and various other things, for those of you unfamiliar with the genius that is the Discworld). You should definitely look it up, it's rather fantastic. I particularly love the 'Anthill Inside' sticker.

I'd love to have a go at making something like this, though probably without the skin contact for easy removal/putting on, and distinctly more steampunk-y, and without real ants for the reasons that rmitchell has stated below. Having living ones is cool and all, but killing them not so much. Brings to mind some interesting ideas about how different, eithically, this kind of thing really is from fur, or leather, when used in jewelery etc, but I'm too tired to make a meaningful interesting point about that right now.

This project freaks me out because the ants are next to your skin. Any ideas on how to make something like this without the skin to ant contact? I'm sure you could add a second bank tube into the device somehow. Otherwise I'm all for cuff like devices.

you should probably put holes at the top an put a thin fabric mesh and for the skin contact part you should put a foam arm band and put sand above it for the ants please don't be negative if you don't like this

It would be helpful to describe what happens to ants when separated from their colony before detailing how to make a wearable cage for them. People who build this may deserve to know that when separated from their home colony, ants do not thrive. Many people care about their pets. Making ants into pets by creating a wearable environ, ensures that as these pets die from being separated from their home. The wearer gets to enjoy the spectacle as they struggle against all hope, to find their way home.

It is unclear what benefit the wearable arm death cage provides over a magnifying glass, in terms of understanding normal any behaviors..

Ants are colony creatures, Take them away from their colony, sever their paths home and what exactly are you studying?

I am sorry if you find the cage hot and sweaty and uncomfortable, you should be able to watch the ants searching hopelessly for home in more comfort.

Ahhhhh, this made me smile. My first thought was that those poor ants must feel like astronauts when you juggle.I think you're crazy-creative, but this would make me itch a month after I took it off. Name an ant after me.